Changing Others
by kikifan21
Summary: What really got the villagers to like Neji after he nearly killed Hinata? Was it set up? Or was it fate? Nejiten friendship sort of fic : review plz :


**Hey kikifan21 here! this is my first story on here so don't be too mean lol constructive critism is always appreciated just no reviews about how itwas a complete waste of our time or how it sux arigato!**

Anyone else wonder how all of a sudden Neji was hated by most of the village after the preliminary finals of the Chuunin exams, then as soon as Naruto defeats him everyone likes him again? It seems almost as though we're missing something, and many think that what we're missing is the story Neji told Konohamaru when he wanted a story about Naruto. However, that's not the case, considering that most of the village did not know that story. That was how Kiba, Hinata, and the rest of the Hyuga family came to like him again, not the whole village. In fact, after the Chuunin exams and Orochimaru's attempt to destroy Konoha, Neji was still given a hard time by the rest of the villagers, as well as his teammates. How about we start off with just before the finals of the Chuunin exam? A few days to be exact.

The Final round of the Chuunin exams were starting soon, team Gai was a mess, well only half, really. Lee was still in the hospital trying to overexert himself, Gai was trying to calm him down with sayings of youth, which didn't help at all. Tenten was about to head over to help Neji train for his big match with Naruto, without so much as a thank you from him, but was held up running a few errands for her brother, Takashi.

"Let's see, I have negi, nasu, a daikon, komatsuna, rice, and potatoes, now I just have to stop by Otohashi-san's and pick up some pork for dinner tonight," Tenten mumbles to herself as she checked off everything on the list that was in her basket.

She had saved going to get the pork last, because it was the closet to her house. She started to head that way when she began to hear whispering. "The girl over there with the twin buns, isn't she on the same team as that killer Hyuga?" one girl whispered.

"Hai, I think so, I hear that when they train, he drives her to the brink of exhaustion and leaves her there until he needs her again," a man replied.

Tenten had become used to the rumors about her and her friend, she was fine with them. Sooner or later everyone will have forgotten all about them, and she'd be through with the stories of her "killer teammate". In the end she continued to walk to Otohashi's shop pretending not to hear the latest gossip.

"Ohayo gozaimasu!" she called, walking into the shop.

"Tenten-chan! I haven't seen you in awhile," a man around the age of sixty-five, but was too fit to be called elderly, behind the counter greeted. "I think you grew a few centimeters since the last time I saw you."

"Gomen," Tenten bowed, putting her basket on the counter. "I've been helping Neji train for the Chuunin exams, so Takashi's been doing all the shopping."

"Right, the finals are in just a couple of days, how's he doing? You think he'll defeat Naruto?" Otohashi has known Neji and Tenten since they were children, he understood what Neji went through and tried to be like another family member he could come to.

"Probably, he has a new technique that's been driving me crazy, I can't hit him with my weapons!" Tenten laughed, as a few more people entered the shop. A couple gasps were heard among them.

"She's the one who hasn't ended up in the hospital because of 'Killer Hyuga'!" one girl gasped in surprise.

"It's amazing, with how protective her brother is of her, I'm surprised he hasn't tried to get her taken off their team!" another girl replied.

"Just shows how poor judgment Takashi has," said a man a few years older than her brother, who at the time had just turned eighteen.

Tenten was fine when people talked about her and in this case she was fine when people talked about Neji, thought it pained her at how little the villagers really know. But when you talk about her brother having poor judgment or being and idiot, that's where she draws the line. "If you have a problem with my brother's judgment or my teammates, I would greatly appreciate it if talked to me face to face about it, it will keep you from being corrupted by rumors," Tenten snapped having had enough of their conversation.

"But he practically tore apart his cousin during the Chuunin exams!" the second girl who spoke retorted.

"Were you there!"

"No, but-"

"Then how do you know what really happened?" Tenten asked, trying her best to stay calm.

"Weren't you the one who nearly had her back broken before that fight?" the first girl started. "You weren't there to see the battle either!"

"However, I don't give into the rumors down street! I did my research! Why don't you do yours!"

"Maybe he didn't try to tear her apart, but he still tried to kill her, and I'm surprised your brother hasn't tried to threaten that Hyuga yet!" the man interrupted.

"'That Hyuga' has a first name you know! And if you knew the truth you'd understand where Neji was coming from. As for my brother, he knows I can take care of myself! And he knows Neji! Unlike you!" Tenten snapped, Otohashi was growing concerned for the poor girl's sanity.

"Really? You can hold your own against him? That explains all the cuts and bruises on you," he retorted, taking a step forward.

"It's my own damn fault for these bruises! And if you expect me to agree that I'm in danger because of my teammate, think again! I'm a ninja; my life is in danger everyday! No matter who may be the cause, so shut your trap and leave my friends and I alone!" Tenten shouted, taking a step forward.

"You consider that killer your friend?" the man laughed.

"He's a ninja, what do you expect!" she nearly growled.

"I expect-" he tried to say only to be interrupted by Otohashi.

"That's enough!" he shouted, a broom in his hand ready to fend of any robber. "If you want to bash someone who isn't even in the building I would appreciate if you do it outside of my establishment."

"Or what, old man?" the cocky man replied.

"You can get the hell out of here and not enter my shop for a good long time!" he replied, twirling the broom with the same grace as the weapon's mistress next to him.

"That's just fine! C'mon Kumiko, Natsui, we're going to shop somewhere else," the man ordered, walking out the door. Tenten let out a breath she hadn't realized she had been holding.

She suddenly realized that he defended her while she was starting the fight in his shop. "Otohashi-san! I'm so sorry, you shouldn't have stood up for me," she said sincerely, bowing multiple times.

"Don't worry about it, Tenten-chan; just try not to do that again, even though they deserved it."

"Sorry."

"Don't be, so I take it you coming to my shop wouldn't be a leisurely visit, am I right?" he laughed, stepping back behind the counter. "What can I get you?"

Tenten laughed. "Sorry, I'll be sure to visit you after the exams. And could I get some pork? The usual amount."

"Let me get that out of the back," he said, smiling.

Tenten made it home without getting into another argument with anyone. She found her brother in the den organizing his weapon compartments. She dropped off the groceries in the kitchen and sat down across from her brother. "What's up, Ten-chan?" he asked, strapping his kunai holster around his leg.

"Don't call me that, and you have another mission?" she asked, rubbing and cracking her neck.

"I asked you first," she glared at him. "Yes, I do, and did you have a rough time finding the onions?"

"No, the negi was easy to find, it's just," she stuttered, trying to think of the words. "Takashi-Ni, do you trust Neji?"

Takashi's face turned serious. "Why? Did he do something to you?" he asked, dropping what he was doing.

"No, no, it's just people keep thinking it's odd that you haven't tried to separate us, for fear he may hurt me," she explained, her brother let out a sigh of relief.

"Ten-chan, you never listen to rumors, or care what others think. Do _you _fear your safety?"

"No, I was at Otohashi-san's getting the pork, when two girls and a guy started trashing you and Neji."

"Tenten, you didn't, did you?" he asked in a worried and annoyed tone.

"It was getting out of control and Otohashi-san got rid of Rokuro and the girls he was with."

"It was Rokuro?" Takashi asked, leaning back in his seat.

"Yeah, he kept saying how you had bad judgment." Takashi practically laughed.

"He's just jealous that I passed the Jonin exams before him. Don't listen to a word he says."

"I don't, but-"

"Then why are you letting him get to you?" he asked, then she thought about it for a second, but came up with nothing. "Look, I trust Neji, not to mention I understand his situation just like you, maybe even more. That has to do with family, so the chances of him taking his anger out on you are pretty slim. Not to mention he knows how close I am with Konoha's police force." He laughed at the last part. "Do you feel better now?"

"Yeah, but…" she trailed off.

"I've met Neji many times before, and from what I've seen, he's not one to allow a teammate to die in front of him if he's done nothing. I feel that you're relatively safe with Neji."

"Arigato, Takashi-Ni," she replied, heading for the kitchen.

"Tenten, you have training with Neji, remember? I'll put everything away and make dinner later, just try not to some home in a wheelchair or missing a limb," Takashi joked, earning a slap to the arm from his sister.

"Shut up!" she yelled, playfully.

"There are bento boxes on the counter, I made too much this morning, so give one to Neji," he called before she left.

"Okay, thanks!"

She made it to the training grounds, where Neji was sitting against a tree throwing kunai at a dummy across the massive field. "You're late, Tenten," he called when he felt her presence.

"Gomen ne, I had to do some shopping, and Takashi made an extra bento box if you want it," she offered him, before sitting down in the shade next to him.

"Arigato."

They sad eating their lunch in quiet for a little bit, when a question suddenly popped out of Tenten's mouth. "Neji? How come you never reply when you hear someone comment about you?" she asked, overcomplicating it.

"Excuse me?" he questioned, understanding nothing of what she had said.

"I mean, you heard the rumors about you being the 'Killer Hyuga' right?"

"Hai."

"Why don't you try to correct whoever said it?"

"It wouldn't matter," he started, closing the bento and putting it to the side. "If I said they were wrong they'd continue to say and if I don't correct them, they'll still continue to say it. There's no point in even trying, why? Have people been bringing you into it?"

"Well," the Kunoichi started, setting her bento aside as well. "People continue to say how I'm so unsafe if I help you train for the exams," she continued, being sure to add mockery and exaggerated voices in the mix. "And how my brother has poor judgment in trusting you."

"I see…" his voice trailed off, deep in thought. "So it's escalated as far as to bring Takashi into it, huh?" he said, mainly to himself.

It was another minute or two before he spoke again. "It's okay, Tenten," he said, confusing his brown eyed teammate. "If you believe the rumors and fear your safety is in jeopardy, you don't have to help me train anymore."

"What are you? Nuts?" the girl snapped at her confused teammate.

"I've known you since we were in the academy, I'm not gonna let one battle between you and your cousin scare me away," she continued, standing up. "Besides, you'd have nothing to gain by injuring me; your hate has nothing to do with me."

She was rewarded with a smirk from her teammate. She smiled back. "So, let's try your new move out, see how many times you can use it without passing out," she suggested, he nodded as they began their training.

It was a couple of days after Neji was defeated by Naruto, and the villagers wouldn't let him hear the end of it! Word of the "Killer Hyuga" defeated by the "Fox Boy" had spread quickly, the villagers still not forgiving the boy for attempting to kill his younger cousin. Neji didn't seem to mind, he knew the rumors weren't true and the ones cared about knew it, too, that's all that mattered. Tenten had become used to the rumors and knew her brother believed her word over the rest of Konoha's villagers. Everything wasn't as bad as she had thought it was.

Neji and Tenten were walking throughout the village stopping by the local weapon shops to supply on anything they had began to run out of before they were given a new mission by one of the higher ups. They were able to ignore the constant staring and whispering and taunting coming from the childish people around them. Until a familiar Shinobi came to confront Tenten while Neji was looking at a stand. "Rokuro? What do you want?" Tenten asked as the man smirked.

"You always seem so sure you know what you're doing and how you can hold your own against any opponent, just like your brother," he said, taking a step forward.

"What are you talking about? You're exaggerating," Tenten replied, holding her ground.

"You both have that same cockiness in your eyes, thinking how high and mighty you are." He delve into his pocket once Tenten turned around.

"You've lost it," she said, heading towards Neji, who had taken notice of a missing teammate. She sensed his presence coming toward her and she quickly grabbed a kunai she had hidden and swatted his knife away.

"Tenten!" she heard Neji shout as his footsteps neared.

"Just like your brother, always hiding a weapon on you." he delve into his pocket once more.

"Many ninja do, for times like this," she retorted, noticing the two girls he had been with before had blended in with the crowd. "This is not good," she thought, knowing how close she was to the worst case scenario.

"You hold high respect and faith towards your brother and the 'Killer Hyuga' let's put it to the test, shall we?" he said, pulling out a syringe, and waved a hand to signal his friends.

"What the hell?" Neji wondered aloud, not knowing what was happening.

Rokuro grabbed the arm Tenten had her kunai in, pulled her to him and stuck the syringe in her neck. "Neji! How could you?" he mocked, as one of his friends screamed.

"'Killer Hyuga' is killing again! His own teammate," she screamed, as Tenten collapsed into Rokuro's arms.

"I'll take her home!" Rokuro said as two men tried to hold down the enraged Neji. He picked the young girl up and sprinted in the direction opposite her house.

"He's gone mad!" another shrieked as Neji tried his best to break free without using his technique.

"Don't you see!" Neji barked, struggling with his restraints. "Rokuro went in the wrong direction from her house! He's not gonna keep her safe! He wants revenge on her brother!"

"Don't loosen your grip!" one man shouted.

"If what your saying is true, then let Takashi handle it," one man who held the Hyuga down grunted.

"Let the boy go!" a male voice shouted. It was Otohashi. "Don't you see, Neji is the only one who can save her? Takashi is out on a mission and this boy can find the girl in no time." he argued, causing the men holding Neji down to loosen their grip on him.

Neji gave the men kind eyes. "Arigato," he said, then smiled to Otohashi.

"Get going, boy! You have no time to lose!" Otohashi ordered, Neji nodded and activated his Byakugan. "Hurry, he can conceal his chakra long enough for you to lose him."

"Thanks, Jii-san," he said, sprinting off.

"You really let the killer get away?" one man shouted from the crowd.

"I've known the boy most of his life, unless you all have a better solution, he's the only one who can protect his friend," Otohashi replied calmly.

"But he's the one who knocked her out!" another man retorted, his hands balling into fists.

"But he didn't," a little girl mentioned, earning stares from strangers and a glare from her mother.

"Naomi, that's enough out of you," her mother ordered, but the girl was too excited.

"I saw it, the man who carried that girl away gave her some shot then she passed out!" she explained, as her mother tried to drag her away.

Everyone stared in amazement.

Neji was still using his Byakugan to track down Rokuro and Tenten. Needless to say, after five minutes of searching he was unable to find his teammate, he should've been able to find her in two. If he focused, maybe he could find Tenten's kunai. Activating his Byakugan once more the Hyuga sprinted off in the direction of the Hokage Mountain.

She opened her eyes to be greeted with very dim lighting. Feeling stiff and sore she tried to stretch her arms, to no avail. The young weapon's mistress settled for cracking her neck. "You shouldn't do that," a voice ordered. "It's unladylike."

"You find that a lot in the Shinobi world," the girl retorted, as her captor came closer. "How long have I been out?"

"Worried that your friend has forsaken you? The amount of serum I injected was only enough to keep you sedated for twenty minutes."

"Why would I think that? It's obvious you had one of your girlfriends freak out and terrify the passersby into believing it was Neji's doing," she retorted, struggling to move her arms that were shackled above her head.

"You're not as dumb as you look," he said, walking closer to his captive.

"One thing still bothers me."

"And that would be?"

"The village is in turmoil, we currently don't have a Hokage, Orochimaru nearly destroyed the village not long ago, and I understand how you can't stand my brother," she started. "What I don't understand is why you feel that kidnapping his sister is the best way to get revenge on him, or why you want revenge. Besides, since Neji was around when you took me, it's obvious he's gonna get here before my brother even finds out. Another thing I don't get is why you feel this is the perfect time to carry out this pla-"

Apparently, Rokuro had had enough. He slapped his captive across the face.

"Just shut up already, there are many things about your brother that you don't know," Rokuro growled.

"I see," Tenten commented, raising her head slightly. "You're a coward." This made Rokuro's eyes widen. "You don't want to face my brother. The reason why you took me is so you can have someone to vent out your anger. Since I'm related to him, you think beating me up will relieve that anger inside."

"I said, shut up!" he yelled, throwing punches and kicks at the girl, who took them all with barely a grunt at each. "You're in no place to be speaking like that!"

"Let's just say…" she replied, panting. "I'm abnormally curious."

"Bitch," he growled, continuing to abuse the girl.

At the village gate, Takashi was arriving home from his mission. He had gotten word about what happened to the Third Hokage and at the Chuunin exams, so he tried to get home as soon as he could. He was greeted by the man who yelled for the men to not loosen their grip on Neji. Not that Takashi knew any of this. "Takashi-kun! You're back!" he called.

"Hai, I heard about Orochimaru, is Tenten all right?" he asked, stopping to chat.

"She was…." he said, a frown of anger appeared on his face.

"Excuse me? What happened to her?" Takashi asked, concerned.

"Someone earlier screamed that she saw 'Killer Hyuga' knock out your sister. A bunch of us held him down, he seemed pretty pissed off. Then Rokuro said he would take her back home," the man explained. "Then 'Killer Hyuga' claimed that Rokuro was taking her the wrong way, which I still doubt. The Hyuga still trashed about, but don't worry he wasn't going to harm your sister after that, he was contained."

"You contained him?" Takashi nearly shouted. "He was the only one at the time who could find her!"

"Funny, that's the same thing Otohashi-san said, dumb guy, he convinced the others to let him go. Then some girl claimed she saw Rokuro inject something into Tenten. Yeesh, kids have such a wild imagination."

"Maybe not," Takashi replied, after calming down a second.

"What do you mean?"

"I mean, Rokuro has always specialized with poisons, antidotes, and sedation drugs. It's possible that you and the others let fear and rumors take over and you tied down the wrong man," Takashi challenged.

"But, how?" the man asked. "I was sure it was…"

"You merely assumed, though I don't blame you, if I didn't personally, I might've done the same thing," Takashi assured him. "Now, if you'll excuse me, I'm gonna go make sure Neji can find my sister, jaa ne." Takashi sprinted off towards the Hokage Mountain.

"Maybe 'Killer Hyuga' isn't such a killer after all," the man wondered aloud before shaking his head. "No way, he must be, I'm never wrong."

It took Neji all of five maybe ten minutes of getting to the mountain, and another thirty minutes to find the kunai Tenten had been carrying. "She must be here," he whispered, looking around where the kunai was to find some sort of opening.

Not too long after he found the kunai did he find scratch marks, matching to size and shape of the knife his teammate dropped. It had to be there. He continued to look for some sort of button or lever to open the passageway, with his Byakugan. "Here it is," he thought to himself, stepping on a nearby rock.

The rock next to the scratch marks began to life and slide out of the way. "Almost there," he whispered, sprinting inside.

"I knew he'd figure it out, better head home," a male voice chuckled, as his shadow jumped off into the nearby trees.

"Well?…Do you feel satisfied?…Has all your anger been released?" Tenten panted, as blood dripped down her lip as well as from several cuts on her body.

"What the hell do you know?" he barked, panting as well.

"Your anger lies with my brother, it's impossible for your anger to go away if you beat up someone else," she retorted, feeling her legs weakening, there was something off about the shackles.

"Why won't you shut up!" he shrieked, slapping her once more, causing her legs to give out. He laughed slightly. "Seems like you figure out about the shackles."

"Of course, I could've escaped if it weren't for the jutsu you put on these chains. Draining my chakra, huh? You really were afraid of me."

He laughed, that laugh where you had to have lost your mind. He approached his captive getting close to her face. "Now, why the hell would I be afraid of you?" he asked, practically breathing down her neck.

"You know what I can do with weapons, you know Takashi would probably kill you when he finds out, and why else would you go to such precautions?" she offered, noticing someone approaching. "You fear that I can defeat you." She banged her head on his, because it was so close, swelling and blood was the result, as well as Rokuro cursing.

"What the hell!" he screeched, as Tenten winced.

"I was hoping that the headband would help, but damn it hurts," she thought, seeing Neji come in through a tunnel.

"Tenten!" he shouted.

"Huh, so he did come after all, I thought for sure he would leave you behind," Rokuro commented, and blood dripped down his nose.

"Neji! Just knock him out!" Tenten ordered, blood dripping down her nose as well. "I hit him in the head, he shouldn't be as strong anymore."

Without being told twice, the Hyuga Prodigy charged toward his friend's captive, preparing to use gentle fist. "Really? C'mon, Hyuga, I've seen you use this before, I know all your tricks," Rokuro challenged, either dodging Neji's hits or blocking them.

Neji didn't let that get to him, talking would only distract him, he had to think. He just needed one distraction, but with his teammate tied up at the moment he wasn't going to get. Or was he?

"Hey, Rokuro! You're such a coward! Having to beat up on people smaller and younger than you just to feel better about yourself, what a crying shame!" Tenten shouted, causing Rokuro to turn around.

He ran up to the girl, completely forgetting his opponent. He struck the girl in the gut, earning a gagging sound. "I said 'shut up!'" he shouted, not realizing the person behind him.

He tried turning around to block himself instead he made himself an open target.

Neji ended up using sixty-four palms on the man, knocking him out. When he was sure he couldn't move he turned to his teammate.

"Daijoubu desuka?" he asked.

"Hai, I'll be fine, there should be a key in one of his pockets," she said, after spitting a mixture of blood and saliva to the area next to her.

"Found it," he replied, standing back up and going to unlock the shackled.

"Arigato," she replied, gratefully, as she fell into his arms. "Sorry about that."

"It's fine, can you walk?"

"I'll be fine, just drag his sorry ass outside so the villagers can see who the real monster is," she nearly ordered, trying to take a step but nearly collapsed.

"Do you need me to carry you?" he asked, as they both recalled one evening after training practice. "Again?"

"I'd have to be on my deathbed before I willingly admit I need you to carry me," she spat at him, causing him to smirk a little.

"Good, you're heavy," he joked, causing her to scowl at him.

"Oh, shut up, and throw him out into the open, if he stays in here, everyone may think you were the one who did this," she sighed, letting go of her teammate and sitting down on the floor. "I need to sit anyway."

That was when Neji saw it, the carefree look in her eyes was gone, her hair had falling out of the buns on her head and she seemed tired. Maybe everything going on really was bothering her more than she let on.

Neji didn't say another word, he did exactly what she said, realizing that she was doing it for him, to destroy his new reputation. But why? Why would she? He never asked her to.

Left with a question that could only be solved in time, the Hyuga made his way back into the passageway to find his teammate trying to get up. After watching her struggle for a second he grabbed her arm and steadied her. "Thanks," she said gratefully, as he wrap her arm around his shoulder and his around her waist, and the two walked out together.

They made their way through the village with a few stares, until the passersby realized the "Killer Hyuga" actually save the girl instead of causing her injuries, then they cheered and clapped for him. He shrugged it off, he didn't do it to clear his name, or because that's what anyone would've done, she was his friend, the only one to stand by her throughout the whole dilemma. That's why.

Arriving at Tenten's house, they noticed the front door was unlocked. "Takashi's home," Tenten smiled, as Neji opened the door. "Takashi-Ni! I'm home!"

"Hey, I heard you got into some trouble with Rokuro," Takashi said, walking into the room smiling and carrying a first-aid kit. His smiled fell a little when he saw the wounds on his sister. " Wow, he really did a number on you."

"You knew about Rokuro?" Tenten asked, as Neji helped her inside.

"Someone told me about it when I came home today," he replied, examining a specific tear on the girl's shirt on her right side. "C'mon, let's bring you to the bathroom, there's more light." He wrapped her other arm around his shoulder and his arm around her waist.

"I'll take my leave," Neji said, bowing, about to walk away.

"Hold it, Neji," Takashi ordered. "I still want to hear this story, dressing the one wound won't take too long."

"Hai," the boy replied, sitting in a chair in the kitchen.

Takashi helped his sister into the bathroom and set her down on the toilet. "I know how much you'd want to take your shirt off in front of him, but as your brother I can't have you do that," he joked, causing his sister to blush.

"You're disgusting," she retorted, lifting up her shirt to reveal the cut.

"It's not too bad, it's pretty deep though, I suggest taking it easy during training would be best," Takashi mumbled, applying some disinfectant, making her flinch. "Quit, moving."

"Can't help it." He finished bandaging the wound and she put her shirt back down.

"That should do it," he mumbled, helping her out into the kitchen where Neji was waiting. "So, tell me what happened."

"We were walking in the village after training and we had visited Lee a little bit before, when Rokuro confronted me, saying how much I'm like you," Tenten explained, wincing as Neji took her headband off.

"Go on." Takashi applied some ointment on her forehead.

"He continued going on and on about how you're so cocky, thinking how you can take on any opponent and how I'm just like that."

"I see, Neji, can you hand me the gauze?" Takashi asked. "Then what?"

"Here." Takashi took the gauze from Neji and taped it on Tenten's forehead.

"He pulled a knife out on me, charged, I stopped him and Neji came over, unaware of everything happening," Tenten continued, as the two boys continued to torture her with disinfectant. "He pulled out a syringe, grabbed me by the arm and injected something to sedate me. I woke up shackled in a cave within the Hokage Mountain."

"After she was taken, one of Rokuro's friends shrieked that I knock her out. Some of the nearby men tried to keep a hold on me, Rokuro said he was going to take Tenten home, but headed the wrong way. If it wasn't for Otohashi-san, I might not have gotten to Tenten in time," Neji explained, wrapping the wounds on Tenten's forearm.

"When I woke up he was talking about how Neji wouldn't come after me and you wouldn't know where I was. I was asking him why he decided the time to get revenge on you would be now and why would he use that method and how it was cowardly-" Tenten continued, interrupted by Takashi.

"You pestered him? No wonder he beat you up," he said, shaking his head.

"He would've anyway, he didn't know when you'd be back so you finding your sister beaten up would anger you and he could, I don't know, fight you or something," Tenten replied.

"True, he might've done more damage if the villagers could keep their hold on Neji," Takashi replied, finishing up the wrappings on her lower leg. "Continue."

"Then Neji came in and knocked him out after I banged him on the head. That's about it," she finished, sitting back in her chair.

"You didn't kill him?" Takashi asked.

"If Neji did, his title as 'Killer Hyuga' would still remain even if he was right to do so," she replied, sighing. "Besides, it's your battle with Rokuro, I'm not supposed to be a part of it."

"True, Neji would you like to stay for dinner?' Takashi offered. "It's the least I can do, you save my sister after all."

"Thank you, but I should head home, Hiashi is waiting for me," Neji politely declined.

"All right, I'll show you to the door, but you should have dinner here sometime, you're always welcome," Takashi added, as the two stood up and headed for the door.

"See you later, Neji," Tenten smiled, waving to her teammate and friend.

"Get some rest," he replied.

"Hai."

Once outside, Neji turned to Takashi. "I know you were the one who was watching me find the cave," Neji said, a smirk on both boys' faces.

"Still can't evade the Byakugan, can I?" he laughed.

"Why didn't try to save Tenten?" Neji questioned.

Takashi closed the door, so his sister wouldn't hear. "I knew you could do it without me, at the time that fight was between you and Rokuro, and not too mention, the whole incident has changed the talk of the town. You're a hero, no one thinks you're a killer anymore. And most importantly, I won't have to hear anymore about how I have to 'protect my sister from "Killer Hyuga"' that was really getting annoying."

"So you didn't set this whole thing up?"

"Nope, I've known for awhile now that Rokuro was going to try to get me through my sister, however I knew he would have to face you if he did it while I was away," Takashi smiled, crossing his arms and leaning against the wall.

"Arigato," the Hyuga said walking away.

"No, I'm the one who should be thanking you. I entrusted my sister's safety to you, without telling you and you saved her anyway. I really am grateful."

The Hyuga smirked, walking away. "Come over anytime, you're no stranger," Takashi offered as the Hyuga faded out of view.

"You sure know how to pick them, Tenten, I must say, I approve," he whispered walking back inside.

* * *

><p><strong>in case you're wondering what Tenten was getting at the market here's the website with the meanings on the fod :)<strong>

**thanks sooooo much for reading plz review :)**


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